New Halotolerant plant growth promoting rhizobacteria enhance Germination of Wheat under salt stress

a.a.a.alazeze@gmail.com Wheat is one of the most important agricultural crops worldwide and its germination is affected by salt stress. Salinity is increasing in soils due to drought, over-exploitation of water resources, and rising sea levels. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have been discovered to be a viable option for promoting plant growth and salt resistance. They are mostly halotolerant and can improve seed germination under salt stress conditions. In the present study, halotolerant bacteria from salt-rich soils were isolated, identified, and examined for their ability to improve wheat germination. Of the 12 strains isolated, two isolates with higher growth rates under salinity stress were selected. The two bacterial strains were evaluated for their ability to enhance wheat germination in the presence of high salt concentrations. The bacterial strains were identified as Alcaligenes faecalis LF.29 and Bacillus sp LF.43. This study suggests that the inoculation of plants with Alcaligenes faecalis and Bacillus sp. LF43 strains could be considered a distinct tool to solve the problem of seed germination in saline soils. At salt concentrations of 300 and 400 mM, pre-incubation of wheat grains with the bacteria individually or in combination significantly increased grain germination. This clearly shows that the growth of wheat plants under salinity stress was enhanced by the incubation with halotolerant bacteria. This makes the halotolerant bacteria to be applied as a biotechnological tool to aid in increasing the germination and growth of wheat plants under salinity stress.